Monthly Archives: January 2009

UCCLA - NO KGB IN CANADA! campaign launched
For immediate release - Ottawa (22 January, 2009)
The Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association is ramping up its campaign to get all NKVD, KGB and other Communist secret police veterans out of Canada.
UCCLA's "No KGB In Canada!" involves thousands of its supporters mailing in pre-printed postcards to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the Honourable Jason Kenney (Minister of Immigration and Citizenship) and the Honourable Peter Van Loan (Minister of Public Safety). The cards share a common message: "Veterans of Soviet secret police formations like the NKVD, SMERSH and KGB should not be allowed to enter Canada nor to remain here. No exceptions. Denaturalize and Deport them all, immediately."
UCCLA's chairman, Dr. Lubomyr Luciuk, explained: "For years we have alerted the Government of Canada, the RCMP and others to the illegal presence in our country of veterans of the Soviet secret police. We don't know how many there are but some openly boasted about their participation in torture and mass murder.
"While we have always championed the principle that any person found in Canada alleged to be a war criminal should be tried in a criminal court, politics is the art of the possible. Since the federal government insists upon using denaturalization and deportation for dealing with persons who should not be in Canada, we call upon Ottawa to apply its preferred standard in every case, without exceptions. There should be no KGB men in Canada, not now, not ever. Indeed Canada should not be a haven for anyone who admits that they were involved in war crimes, regardless of their ethnic, racial or religious heritage, their ideological convictions, or the period or place where they committed or enabled such crimes against humanity. Justice cannot be selective."
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For more information, please contact Dr. Lubomyr Luciuk at luciuk@uccla.ca

*NO KGB MEN IN CANADA! campaign launched*
Ottawa (22 January 2009) - For immediate release:
The Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association is ramping up its
campaign to get all NKVD, KGB and other Communist secret police veterans
out of Canada.
UCCLA's "No KGB In Canada!" involves thousands of its supporters mailing
in pre-printed postcards to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the
Honourable Jason Kenney (Minister of Immigration and Citizenship) and
the Honourable Peter Van Loan (Minister of Public Safety). The cards
share a common message: "Veterans of Soviet secret police formations
like the NKVD, SMERSH and KGB should not be allowed to enter Canada nor
to remain here. No exceptions. Denaturalize and Deport them all,
immediately."
UCCLA's chairman, Dr. Lubomyr Luciuk, explained: "For years we have
alerted the Government of Canada, the RCMP and others to the illegal
presence in our country of veterans of the Soviet secret police. We
don't know how many there are but some openly boasted about their
participation in torture and mass murder. While we have always
championed the principle that any person found in Canada alleged to be a
war criminal should be tried in a criminal court, politics is the art of
the possible. Since the federal government insists upon using
denaturalization and deportation for dealing with persons who should not
be in Canada we call upon Ottawa to apply its preferred standard in
every case, without exceptions. There should be no KGB men in Canada,
not now, not ever. Indeed Canada should not be a haven for anyone who
admits that they were involved in war crimes, regardless of their
ethnic, racial or religious heritage, their ideological convictions, or
the period or place where they committed or enabled such crimes against
humanity. Justice can not be selective."
-- 30 --

The Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Foundation (UCCLF) is pleased to announce Christina Dykun, 21, of Toronto, Ontario as the recipient of this year’s inaugural Civil Liberties Opinion-Editorial Award.

This award was to be given to a high school or post-secondary student who had an opinion-editorial on a Holodomor theme published in a major Canadian newspaper, an initiative undertaken in recognition of the 75th anniversary of Ukraine’s Famine Genocide.

Christina’s submission, titled “Nation still hungers for the truth”, appeared in the November 23rd edition of the Calgary Sun.

As the winner of the competition, Christina will be awarded $1,000.00 as well as a copy of Into Auschwitz, For Ukraine by Stefan Petelycky for her efforts.

Christina is in her fourth year at the University of Toronto, graduating in the spring with an honours B.A. in English and History. Her future aspirations are within the field of Law. Her active involvement in the Plast organization stems from early childhood, and is currently a ‘podruha’ at the Plast Toronto Branch. Having graduated from ‘Ridna Skola’ in Chicago, she continues her study of Ukrainian linguistics and history at the university level. Christina is very involved within the university Ukrainian life, as she has been a member of the Ukrainian Students Club at the University of Toronto as well as a member, past president and vice-president of the student council at St. Vladimir’s Institute in Toronto.

Her involvement in extracurricular activities is quite varied. She has played on the Varsity Team at the University of Toronto all four years, helping her team secure a first-place OUA finish 3 years in a row. This year, Christina was elected captain, and continues her involvement in Varsity Athletics as a representative on the Varsity Board. Other interests include music, where she has played the piano competitively for 14 years, and today enjoys playing as a relaxing pastime. Her lifelong enjoyment of reading and writing are furthered by her chosen curriculum.

The UCCLF would like to congratulate Christina for writing an excellent opinion-editorial and having it published.